Exchange Student on the Honor Roll

WHEN a bankrupt General Motors realized it had to downsize its money pit of a house, tossing away Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer the way parents give away their children’s old toys, it surprised some people by keeping Buick.

The Buick division certainly made a case for survival by selling nearly 450,000 cars a year in China in 2009, compared with only 102,000 in the United States. Even before it downsized, G.M. had begun dusting off the seemingly geriatric brand, seeing its potential as an American alternative to, say, Volvo, Acura or even Lexus.

Buick should be encouraged by the early returns. The Enclave is among the most handsome, useful three-row crossovers. The stylish LaCrosse sedan is an impressive alternative to the costlier Lexus ES 350. If G.M. had made vehicles like these a decade ago, the company might have avoided catastrophe.

The Buick name still sounds about as hip as Woolworth’s or Zenith, but sales are up 58 percent this year, more than any brand in the industry. Roger McCormack, Buick’s marketing director, says 19 percent of Buick buyers are trading in a foreign-brand car, versus a mere 6 percent from 2004 through 2006.

Now Buick has its own import. The midsize Regal sedan is built in Russelsheim, Germany, though G.M. intends to switch production to Ontario in the first quarter of 2011. The Regal is a rebadged Opel Insignia that was voted Europe’s 2009 Car of the Year by auto journalists. And while it’s built on a scaled-down version of the LaCrosse platform, this Buick is about seven inches shorter and aimed at a younger, less conservative buyer. Until the compact Verano arrives in 2012 the Regal is the smallest Buick in the showroom.

To G.M.’s credit, it passed up the temptation to use one of the alpha-numeric model names that automakers seem to think denote luxury. Instead, G.M. dusted off Regal, a name used from 1973 to 2004 — even on the last Buick remotely associated with teenage kicks, the Regal Grand National muscle car of the ’80s.

The new Regal also has sporting pretensions, but not of the drag-racing sort. This front-drive car takes careful aim at a tricky sales target: the so-called premium sedans that are a cut above mainstream family cars, but not quite full-fledged luxury cars, either. In this class, the lovely Volkswagen CC is the style champ and the Acura TSX is the low-key performance benchmark.

The Regal is certainly ready for its close-up. This might be the best-looking sedan from any American automaker, more this-season-sophisticated than even G.M.’s higher-priced Cadillac CTS.

Though the arched roofline is an Audi signature and the rear deck in profile suggests BMW, the Regal doesn’t come across as Euro-generic or a carbon copy, which wags suggest is what the “CC” stands for in the Volkswagen sedan that pays homage to the Mercedes CLS. I kept walking up to the Regal, shaking my head and thinking, “This can’t possibly be a Buick.”

And for a car that starts at $26,995 for the Regal CXL (my test car was $31,780), or $29,495 for the superior CXL Turbo, the cabin also seems more European than G.M. cars of an earlier vintage. The seats are supportive and especially handsome, with stitched leather that’s repeated on door panels. The three-point steering wheel looks and feels robust, as does the saddle-horn-shaped shifter for the 6-speed automatic transmission.

The Buick matches the VW’s rear legroom at 37.3 inches and improves on the slightly smaller Acura by 3 inches. The Regal’s trunk, at 14.2 cubic feet, is the roomiest of its main competitors.

The clean, shapely center console raises one questionable design point. The multifunction display seems to want to be a touch screen. Instead, it’s controlled by a single knob that toggles through audio, navigation and vehicle functions. The plastic knob is a budget version of the gleaming metal wonders in expensive German cars. The system isn’t ideally integrated, to the point that I had to pull out the driver’s manual.

But after my first befuddled journey, the hair-pulling subsided and some advantages were revealed. The navigation system is comprehensively mapped and lightning-quick. When I entered addresses, the system needed to see only a couple of letters before homing in on the city or street I wanted, with no frustrating hangups.

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THE EURO ZONE Based on the Opel Insignia and built in Germany, the new Buick Regal feels and looks European.

Considering all the lost decades when Detroit’s sedans looked indifferent on the outside and cheesy on the inside, the Regal’s refined design means it’s already won 90 percent of the battle.

The other 10 percent, unfortunately, is the Regal’s base 4-cylinder engine. The upgraded Regal Turbo, which arrives in showrooms in December, will cost an extra $2,500. But it’s the best $2,500 a Buick buyer will ever spend.

Whichever engine you choose, the Regal feels German-solid, and it’s hushed and composed at cruising speed. But contributing to that solidity, the Regal is the heaviest car in its class at 3,600 pounds.

Pulling too much weight for its 182 horsepower and wimpy 172 pound-feet of torque, the base Ecotec 2.4-liter engine begins to quail when asked to motivate the Buick with any urgency.

And while Buick’s decision to offer only 4-cylinder engines seemed a brave vote for fuel efficiency, the base model’s E.P.A. mileage is a so-so 19 city, 30 highway m.p.g. In one uncomfortable comparison, the less costly Hyundai Sonata has a 2.4-liter engine with more horsepower (200) but still manages 35 m.p.g. on the highway.

Mash the gas to merge or climb hills and the Buick’s power plant makes stressed-out noises that I never want to hear again from a $30,000 car.

But the Regal Turbo I drove felt like an entirely different car. It might as well be, with 220 horses and 258 pound-feet of torque — 50 percent more than its weak sister — and a more sophisticated ride-and-handling package.

I might emphasize that I’m not lauding the turbo simply because it’s faster. Instead, the turbo, like a benign dictator, keeps the interior peace because it doesn’t need to flex its power to show who’s in charge.

Whether from 20 or 80 miles per hour, the turbo generates smooth waves of power with no need to stomp the accelerator; the engine helps to make the Buick feel like a premium car. With a worthwhile option group that kicks the Regal Turbo’s price up to $32,190, you get distinctive 19-inch wheels and tires, a Harmon Kardon audio system, rear side air bags, high-intensity headlamps and, most tellingly, G.M.’s Interactive Drive Control System.

As with many luxury cars, this system lets drivers select settings that adjust an adaptive suspension, steering, transmission, throttle and stability control. Touring mode aims for a cushy, cruising vibe. Standard occupies a middle ground. The Sport setting firms up the shocks and steering, lends the throttle and transmission a jolt of aggression and lets drivers push harder before the stability control intervenes.

The resulting Regal is appealingly planted, confident and especially quiet. The sole turbo drawback is that torque steer could be better controlled; if you jam the throttle, the power-stressed front tires twist the steering wheel in your hands.

Around year-end, the Regal Turbo will get an optional 6-speed manual transmission. For a Buick, that’s as wild a touch as a D.J. turntable on a banker’s desk. Next year, an even sportier Regal GS will almost certainly use the same engine, tweaked to make more than 250 horsepower. An auto-show concept of the GS featured all-wheel drive, 20-inch wheels, Recaro seats, Brembo brakes and even a flat-bottom steering wheel.

Ultimately, even the Regal Turbo isn’t as much fun to drive as the Acura or VW, although the shortfall wouldn’t be so glaring if Buick hadn’t overstated its car’s European dynamics. Whether it’s from Deutschland, Detroit or, oh, Canada, this Regal plays a more relaxed game at a price that makes it worth cross-shopping against rivals.

But if you do take a spin in the base Buick, a tip: no matter the look on the salesman’s face, floor the gas and keep it there until it runs through a gear change or two. If you’re not troubled by the frenzied whirrings or languid pace, consider it $2,500 in your pocket. For everyone else, the Regal Turbo is the premium sedan that’s worth the premium.

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INSIDE TRACK: Give me a boost.

A version of this review appears in print on October 17, 2010, on Page AU1 of the New York edition with the headline: Exchange Student on the Honor Roll. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe